[SHRIMP TANK] Black Cherries

 Another few weeks have passed and the weather is scorching hot. So hot that I am very worried that some of my shrimp may pass away from the heat. So what do i do?
I make the wise decision in buying a pair of black cherries!
Thanks to Dean for supplying this magnificient pair. I have also noticed a blue hue on the snow whites. This puzzles me.
Red Rillis have produced their first batch. I will post up some pics when the shrimplets are big enough to view on camera.

 You may be wondering why the hell I posted up this last picture. Take a better look and if you see the reason feel free to send me a reply.

[SHRIMP TANK] Breeding Box

AQUA MANTA BREEDING BOX REVIEW

So far upon opening the package, I am quite happy with its quality.
Comes with all the components and it is easy to install. All in all this setup took me less than 5 minutes to assemble.

Was quite impressed with this little gadget. There is enough room here to use it as a breeding box. The dividers are very useful in separating your male and female shrimp and
the box even comes with a lid to prevent evaporation or shrimp from jumping out. I was quite impressed with the thought that went into designing this box.
You may ask why?
One thing that I was very concerned about was splash as the bubbles pop on the surface of the water.
I guess that is why I NEVER have purchased breeding boxes that require a pump to operate. This breeding box solves the problem with its very clever design.
Not only does it have a lid that fits snugly above the outlet pipe but this pipe is also pointed downwards resulting in no splash and no evaporation.
What are the disadvantages? Well to me the main disadvantage is the air pump requirement for this thing to run.
If you do not like to run an air pump to your aquarium, you may want to look into the internal breeding boxes that require no air pump.
The box is designed for fish so the dividers may not divide juvenile shrimp. I have measured the gaps in the dividers at 2mm.
The 2mm gap will not allow adult shrimp to pass through but it will allow newborn juvenile shrimp to pass through. I do not really see this an issue anyway as this breeding box
is set up to house shrimp temporarily not permanently.

Advantages:
- The dividers enable your to configure your chambers in 3 different ways. Small/Small/Small  ;  Small;Medium ; LARGE SINGLE CHAMBER.
- Fits nicely against the side of a 2 foot tank so should fit a 1 foot cube as well.
- Comes with a lid with side fasteners
- Looks nice and has a very clever design.
- Adds another 1-2L to your cube (If you have a small tank) which increases the volume of your tank.
- Air pump aerates your water and contributes to oxygenation.
- Seems of good quality and is of [b]GREAT VALUE [/b]

Disadvantages:
- Main disadvantage is you need an Airpump for it to work. But this should be common sense!
- The dividers do not go all the way to the bottom (there is a 2-4mm gap) but this is easily fixed by adding some aquasoil into the container.
- Some of the fittings fall off upon assembly (once assembled and if not tightened) but they are not essential and can be easily super glued on.

CONCLUSION: There are many advantages to this breeding box. Its smart design makes it very useful in breeding setups.
There are some disadvantages but they are small and overall this box is great value in my opinion.

[SHRIMP TANK] Rilli Rilli Orange

 Wow weather has been very hot the past week. It was so hot and humid I had difficulty sleeping. However I feel somewhat relaxed knowing i got a chiller set up to the main tank. The oxidators are running a little too strong for my liking (see picture of oxidator below). I assume this is because of the water temperature.

To the left are two snapshots of my Rilli's. I think they look fantastic when berried. Those yellow eggs really fascinate me.
 Also pictured left are my sunkist shrimp. These sunkist are off very good stock. A trustworthy and experienced breeder. ( Yes you KiwiBigD :) ). There are far too many poor looking cherries passed off as "Sunkist" Shrimp. I would rather pay the extra to get decent quality ones that "wow" the viewer.

Below left is my Red Crystal Selective breeding tank.  I will be moving those white shrimp separately into a separate tank soon as it cycles properly.

Also the Mr Aqua starfire tank has been filled and is almost ready to house more shrimp. In this tank I am planning to put in my "Super Black" Cherries. Will post some pictures of them when they arrive.


I just hate this editor. Cant get the pictures aligned

[SHRIMP TANK] Oxidators

 A few things this week. I have setup another tank to concentrate on cherry breeding. I will be getting a few chocolates in next couple of weeks. So far I have a couple of breeding Rilli, Yellows, Sunkist Orange and Fire reds.
(Have not got round to taking pics yet but will soon)

Another update is the introduction of three Sochting Oxidators into my setups. These seem to be beneficial in that they diffuse oxygen into the water by breaking up the extra oxygen molecule from Hydrogen Peroxide. I will post some reviews on them later on down the track once I am able to judge how useful they are.

Summer is fast approaching and i have a feeling it will be a hot one. Unfortunately weather is totally out of my control and despite TLC I lost 2 snow white shrimp yesterday. The chiller is now and and my fingers are crossed.

final note: I am sad to say I pulled down my marine tank over the weekend. Cannot keep up with all the water changes. I can deal with freshwater but marine is just too much work!